how do i explain to a 3 year old that there are no monsters in his room?

Question

until now, we have a hard time nipping our little boy to sleep without him pulling me saying "im sooo scared" ...how exactly can i put my child to sleep? i would mich appreciate web links to read more information...thanks...

Answer 1

lol when you figure this out let me know because my 7 yr old is still afraid of "what's in the dark" and sleeping alone. well the sleeping alone we know is an attachment disorder which i am sure his brother is ready to have him just get over. as far as being scared of what's in the dark.......humm maybe that is just being smart.
cute story on topic... my son swore there was a monster in his room. we'd go look and nothing. 2 weeks my kids stayed at their grandmas as we redecorated their room. a automated toy in their toybox was low on batteries and started playing on it's own in a very draggy way. the furnace turned on causing a hissing sound as it whistled through their books, and whoever put that toy microphone on the furnace vent still deserves a good beating because that had me hiding in a closet crying for my husband to come kill it....... i will never live that down.

Answer 2

I've actually heard of (and bought, but never tried) something called "Monsters Be Gone". It comes with a video, a nightlight, a door-hanging sign, and a spray bottle that you spray in the problem area(s) and it "gets rid of monsters" (just refill the spray bottle with water). At 3, a kid doesn't think the way that we do - so it'd be really hard to just explain that there are no monsters. Check over the problem area right before you leave, let him have a night light (or hall light, a flashlight...or even let him keep the light on if nothing else). Then if you use the product, let him keep the spray bottle with him so that he can use it when he gets scared. If you don't already have one, a regular routine that gets him really drowsy may help too (a bath, a book, back-rubbing, something relaxing) - this way he's already half asleep when you leave him. When I was a kid, it helped me just to hear the adults, the TV, or something, so that I knew that they were awake and close-by if something were to happen. Maybe look into a couple books or movies that show monsters as likeable creatures rather than scary evil ones (Monsters, Inc. for example). I know a few people who let their child sleep in their room if they get really scared, but the rule is that they have to camp out on the floor and not wake them - it seems to work for them. Just a couple ideas, good luck!

Answer 3

Well, you can't really explain this. Instead, offer ways to stave off the fear. Explain that you are always there to keep him safe, and that you would never let a monster get him. You can also provide him with a tiny water sprayer (that only holds a few ounces) and draw a monster with a circle and a line through it so it can be his 'monster spray'. Be sure he has a night-light, and you may want to get him a kid flashlight. Remember that a three year old can not tell the difference between real life and pretend yet, and this is such a normal age for these types of fears.

Answer 4

You don't. Three year olds don't think like grown ups. To him there ARE monsters in his room. First of all you have to "empower" the child. We did this by announcing all the way down the hall to her room to any and ALL monsters great or small hiding in the closet under the bed, or dresser any in the dresser drawers or toy chest that the most feared, most horrific, scariest , most beastly of ALL mosters was coming down the hall to get into bed and that moster was a small child! IF all the monsters in the bedroom didn't want to perish from the horror of this beast they needed to be well hidden where this child could not find them and they'd better be hiding by the time she entered the bedroom. and POOF no more monsters...we would look under the bed, the dresser in the closet in drawers, in the toychest, under the chair...No monsters, our plan worked...we did this for about a year, never had her in our bed and she went to bed and slept quite well every singl night. A friend of mine took a different approach. She got a "baby" monitor, but instead of having the receving end with her she gave the child the receiver and had the monitor in the family room where her and her husband would be watching televsion, talking etc...the sounds of his parent's voices gave him the security and comfort he needed...

Answer 5

I don't know of any links sorry but my son and I go monster hunting. we take our flashlights and look under the bed in closet and any where else that he feels they could be hiding because all know that monster are scared of light. he also gets to keep his flashlight with him so if get scared he can chase off any monsters that may come his way after i leave. when we started this i made up a story about little boy a scared of the dark and how he kept all those nasty scary monster at bay. good luck
PS now we have moved on to I need a drink or i got to go pee 50 times before he passes out. if it's not one thing it's anther.

Answer 6

I heard of a very creative way to help kids with their "monsters." I can't remember where I saw this, but dad comes into the kids room acting real tough. Checks for monsters, sees none, and then puts a sign on the child's door saying, "All monsters are warned! Keep out!" This helped with the child that I was reading about and I thought it was a very good idea.

Answer 7

Don't tell him there are no monsters. Show him..........preferably in the dark so he does not pull the "they will come out when it is dark" bit. Take a "magic flashlight" and search with him. (you can even dec out a flashlight that you own for this....his favorite colors and make it look like a super hero weapon). check under the bed, the closets, every nook and cranny in the room. Then allow him to take the magic flashlight to bed so that if he hears something, he can turn it on and see that there are no monsters in there.
Good luck!

Answer 8

my daughter is three and has started this recently. shes scared of monsters and also king kong (which i blame her aunt for taking her to see that movie without my permission) every time she asks about them saying shes scared i explain to her that the monsters cant get her while shes asleep and if they try, superman will save her (she saw the superman movie too and she knows he saves people) this usually helps ALOT she calms down and falls asleep soon after. i dont know if that will help with ur child but u could try to give him/her a "hero" that he will believe will keep him safe (whether its Mighty Mom and Dyno Dad or superman)

Answer 9

My son does the exact same thing (he's almost 3). I waited for him to calm down, opened the closet, turned the light on, and showed him that there's nothing to worry about. Definitely don't spend too much time puting him back to bed.

Usually, when he wakes up crying, I just go in there, put my hand on his back, and wait for him to lay back down and sleep. That works pretty well for me.

Answer 10

Find out what he's scared of - under the bed? closet? window? Get him a nightlight. Talk to him about why he's scared during the day, when it's light outside and he's less likely to be scared about it.